I was very fortunate to be given a place in Jane Tomlinson’s 10km run in Leeds. It was something I was very grateful for and gave me a chance to find out more what it was about this wonderful woman that made her so special. However it was going to prove a little bit of a logistical challenge.

On the Saturday before hand I had the task of picking up six rowing machines and taking them to Aldershot for the Hampshire youth games. Thankfully two apprentice coaches from the Amateur Rowing Association were on hand to help coach children who came to try their hand at rowing. Three hundred plus children later we were finished. We got the machines away and back to Coalporters in Southampton. Now on that Saturday eve it was my turn to get to Leeds.

Time and money meant I wasn’t going to be able to stay up there the night before. So the solution was to get an overnight National Express Bus. The bus up to London that was very comfortable, after a change at London the bus from London to Leeds was not. It was a return to the old days when the seats were unsettling and the onboard toilets leaked an unpleasant odour. This didn’t make for a great nights sleep. Plus the driver moved the bus around like he was a frustrated Lewis Hamilton wannabe.

I arrived at Leeds bus station just before 5.30 am. The next part was to find my way to the race registration. I turned right out of the station and walked into a group of revellers who had just left a night club. Some smoking funny substances made me feel nervous enough to spin around and grab a taxi. I arrived at the start to see them start setting up the race. I had actually managed to beat some of the organisers to the start. After getting there and finding the registration office, I then tried to find Maggie who had helped organise my place before she became to busy.

I saw someone who seemed to be wearing race official wear. He was chatting to someone with his back to me. I waited for him to finish and asked politely if he knew where Maggie was. He turned round and it was the late Jane Tomlinson’s husband Mike. I felt quite embarrassed as if he didn’t have enough on his mind today. I got to meet with Maggie and she gave me instructions for my vip access. I thankfully was amongst a privileged few who was given breakfast and somewhere nice to eat it. I saw more of the Tomlinson family. What struck me by observing a little of how they were with each other wasn’t so much how genuine they were but how loving and strong they were as a family unit. I started to understand then where Jane must of got the strength to achieve what she did.

It wasn’t long before I got to the race start. Looking around it was easy to see that it really was a run for all. Another thing to strike me was the bravery of some of the runners. Some of these must have been dealing with chemo at the time or were recovering from it.

As we shuffled down to the start the announcer spoke out about some of Jane’s achievements which drew a well deserved round of applause. He son Steven helped get the first group of runners away. This very brave young man seemed to cope with the task in his stride.

The race had a great spirit and wonderful atmosphere. Towards the finish though something else kicked in that I hadn’t felt for a while. I was exhausted from the travelling but something deep down prompted a competitive kick. I opened up the throttle, which I hadn’t done for a while in the last 2km. I got to the finish and treated myself to a well-deserved massage. I picked up one of my ducks which had been signed by Nell McAndrew (hopefully this one will be popular with the men). Now for the return on the National Express in the knowledge I had taken part in something special.

The following weekend was going to be on a different playing field all together. I was very grateful to be given a place in the JP Morgan around the island race. I was allowed to join the crew on a very beautiful yacht called Cetewayos owned by David Murrin. I arrived on the boat the night before to find myself on a choppy voyage over to Cowes. We had food and drink in Cowes then slept on the yacht ready for a very early start the next day.

It isn’t to often you can actually say that you shared a race with the GB sailing squad and one of the biggest stars in formula one. This was the last port of call before team Skandia GBR goes to China. Lewis Hamilton was on the Hugo Boss boat. We started off and how we avoided not hitting anyone I don’t know. Heading towards the needles I saw a very special boat with children from the Ellen Macarthur Trust the Scarlet Oyster.

We got round the needles and seemed to have everything with us as the speed picked up. My role was more or less to back up anyone else who needed help. So when I was shifting from side to side and sitting on the rail when were tacking, I was trying to help pull ropes or sails in.

We finished 90th out of the 1800 plus boats that took part. In two weekends I had shared a sporting arena with some of the salt of the earth and some of the richest to. Some of the most elite sports men/women and some of the bravest to. I’ve learnt so much about myself and others, I’m not even half way through yet.